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litany of gulps posted:What is your number one most highly recommended book? Art of the Deal
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Jul 6, 2017 13:34
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Volkerball posted:Calling first responders and civilian victims terrorists based on nothing other than a desire to undermine any sort of support the US could give them isn't "moderate skepticism." It's lies and slander to support an agenda. This is a bald-face lie though. I've never claimed the White Helmets are terrorists. I have criticized their leadership, but for completely different reasons. All you do is make poo poo up.
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Jul 6, 2017 13:43
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I Love Annie May posted:I hope that fuckers like Woozy, Thug Lessons and thatfatfag get a nice delivery of Sarin courtesy of the Russian air force, while the world looks on with indifference and snidely suggests that their deaths are all part of a convoluted false flag operation in order to encourage regime change in their countries by the US. Reasonable, and funny too. I especially like the part where you call that guy a fag lol.
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Jul 6, 2017 13:49
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nice streak man
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Jul 6, 2017 13:58
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so that means I can be a cheapskate and post about posting instead of having some wit or spending any more on comedy avs for people. Which I'm also incapable of. Comedy.
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Libluini posted:We supported the FSA a lot back in 2011 when they were just a bunch of Syrian army deserters, but that old FSA has been dead for a long while now. 6 years of civil war will do that sometimes. Yeah and that's where Al Saqr's supposed "lust for Kurdish death" originates. He feels that back then when there really was a moderate opposition, the Kurds were far more interested in asserting control over their own territory instead of fighting the regime. And over time the moderates were killed, run off, or forced to join the Islamists out of necessity (since those Islamists got the most funding from gulf states). So now it's pretty much just The Kurds, the Regime forces, and various flavors of Islamists. The Kurds have their own agenda that doesn't involve toppling Assad so right now the two groups vying for control of Syria are both pretty well disliked. Like, I wouldn't mind seeing Assad dying a painful death for all he's done, but I also don't want Nusra running the country. It's a really lovely choice.
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Jul 6, 2017 14:49
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Thug Lessons posted:This is a bald-face lie though. I've never claimed the White Helmets are terrorists. I have criticized their leadership, but for completely different reasons. All you do is make poo poo up. Oh no, you never claimed they were terrorists. Just that their reports are all al qaeda propaganda and deliberate misinformation. Rat gently caress.
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Jul 6, 2017 15:05
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I Love Annie May posted:I hope that fuckers like Woozy, Thug Lessons and thatfatfag get a nice delivery of Sarin courtesy of the Russian air force, while the world looks on with indifference and snidely suggests that their deaths are all part of a convoluted false flag operation in order to encourage regime change in their countries by the US. hmm, no. Maybe if we're at the point where people suggest using sarin gas on people they have online disagreements with then someone should sarin bomb this thread.
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Jul 6, 2017 15:10
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gently caress what a dumpster fire of a thread. CONTENT: quote:"At least 224 civilians, including 38 children and 28 women, have been killed in air strikes by the global coalition on Raqa since the SDF entered it," said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. More commentary on the situation in eastern Syria, where the US seems to be consolidating against Iran. quote:The United States' shooting down of a Syrian fighter jet on June 18 was regarded as an indicator of elevated US military activism in Syria in support of its partners. In fact, it was a new peak of direct confrontation between the United States and the Syrian government that had started weeks earlier, when American forces declared it a "red line" if pro-Assad forces were to approach the southeastern al-Tanf region, which hosts a base of the US-led coalition.
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Jul 6, 2017 15:32
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The Saudi embassy's Twitter is a public example of how they're probably lobbying the US in private: hammer Qatar exclusively on financing terrorism. https://mobile.twitter.com/SaudiEmbassyUSA/status/882968897556811777 https://mobile.twitter.com/SaudiEmbassyUSA/status/882257642642694145
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Jul 6, 2017 15:39
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Volkerball posted:Oh no, you never claimed they were terrorists. Just that their reports are all al qaeda propaganda and deliberate misinformation. Rat gently caress. You just said I claimed they were terrorists, now you're admitting I didn't but I claimed some other insane thing. It's not very hard for people to figure out what's going on here
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Jul 6, 2017 15:46
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Thug Lessons posted:You just said I claimed they were terrorists, now you're admitting I didn't but I claimed some other insane thing. It's not very hard for people to figure out what's going on here yeah, everyone should know by now that thug lessons actually thinks they're a CIA catspaw to agitate for a US invasion of Syria, just like everything and everyone else in Syria (except for the Kurds apparently)
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Jul 6, 2017 17:45
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HorrificExistence fucked around with this message at 17:54 on Jul 6, 2017 |
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Jul 6, 2017 17:48
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wrong thread
HorrificExistence fucked around with this message at 17:55 on Jul 6, 2017 |
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Jul 6, 2017 17:48
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Gobbeldygook posted:The Saudi embassy's Twitter is a public example of how they're probably lobbying the US in private: hammer Qatar exclusively on financing terrorism. Imagine if an astroid hit earth and it was shaped as a thousand mile across ironicat and it obliterated the whole country of Saudi Arabia.
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Jul 6, 2017 18:11
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New Neocon Mantra: Iran on Verge of Collapse: http://lobelog.com/new-neocon-mantra-iran-on-verge-of-collapse/#morehouse21quote:Iran hawks suddenly have a new mantra: the Islamic Republic is the Soviet Union in the late 1980s, and the Trump administration should work to hasten the regime’s impending collapse. What do you think?
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Jul 6, 2017 18:20
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Bip Roberts posted:Imagine if an astroid hit earth and it was shaped as a thousand mile across ironicat and it obliterated the whole country of Saudi Arabia. You only really need to get Riyad. quote:What do you think? NYT and WaPo are definitely gearing up for the next act of the Forever War, but "Iran is next" was the mantra already since the McCain campaign.
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Jul 6, 2017 18:51
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FourLeaf posted:New Neocon Mantra: Iran on Verge of Collapse: http://lobelog.com/new-neocon-mantra-iran-on-verge-of-collapse/#morehouse21 Yeah, the Iranian economy if anything has largely recovered in the last 2 years (current economic growth is 15%, the highest in the world (also probably not sustainable)). Once the sanctions were lifted they started selling as much as oil as they could to Europe, and production has largely recovered. The last election had pretty high participation as well. The Soviets collapsed because there desperately trying to keep their entire system together with high oil prices, once prices dropped in 85/86 they had nowhere to turn. In contrast, the Iranians had to sell at deep discount even when oil prices are high, and they are getting better returns now since they can sell at market prices. Honestly, it seems like a bunch of wishful thinking thrown together.
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Jul 6, 2017 19:05
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FourLeaf posted:New Neocon Mantra: Iran on Verge of Collapse: http://lobelog.com/new-neocon-mantra-iran-on-verge-of-collapse/#morehouse21 Everybody and their dog is realizing that the war against IS is basically over at this point, and now's the perfect chance to ramp poo poo up against other foreign enemies, be it Assad or Iran or Russia. Iran is not on the verge of collapse, sorry. Iran survived the war in the 80s, isolation, threats of more war, sactions and constant propaganda. Now many of the sanctions have been lifted. They're starting to ink trade deals with major world powers. Their foreign policy is mostly going well for them-- their ally Assad is relatively secure, no immediate threats are coming from Iraq, and the Gulf states are divided and inept. A relatively liberal president was just re-elected with a strong mandate, suggesting Iran's new (relative) openness will continue. Shits not all honey and roses; the Iranian economy needs to grow in a way that helps the average person, not just the IRGC and their companies. The stifling political climate never helps. Hardliners are ever lurking, utterly distrusting outsiders and intent on arming. On the overall Iran is doing fairly well. Compared to the chaos in rest of the region, Iran is positively beaming with optimism.
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Jul 6, 2017 19:05
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Agnosticnixie posted:NYT and WaPo are definitely gearing up for the next act of the Forever War, but "Iran is next" was the mantra already since the McCain campaign. The only reason it didn't go through in the Bush administration was because Iraq refused to settle down, and by 2006 between the midterm sweep and the al-Askari mosque bombing it was clear two military occupations were enough to be going on with.
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Jul 6, 2017 19:12
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FourLeaf posted:New Neocon Mantra: Iran on Verge of Collapse: http://lobelog.com/new-neocon-mantra-iran-on-verge-of-collapse/#morehouse21 ANY DAY NOW
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Jul 6, 2017 19:28
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FourLeaf posted:What do you think? The Islamic regime could collapse but it will not stop Iran from asserting itself. Be very careful what you wish for.
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Jul 6, 2017 19:47
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I think a nationalist, secular Iran (to use a hypothetical example) would likely pursue the same policies as now.
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Jul 6, 2017 19:50
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If anything Iran might be positioned to be one of the better off countries in the entire region. Relatively stable, mostly functioning government apparatus, good demographics. If they could dump the shah, basij, and the revolutionary guard they'd be even more of a powerhouse than they are. Gonna get turbo hosed by climate change though.
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Jul 6, 2017 19:53
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The Shah was dumped 38 years ago.
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Jul 6, 2017 19:54
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Gah brainfart meant the ayatollah
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Jul 6, 2017 20:23
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Scaramouche posted:If anything Iran might be positioned to be one of the better off countries in the entire region. Relatively stable, mostly functioning government apparatus, good demographics. If they could dump the shah, basij, and the revolutionary guard they'd be even more of a powerhouse than they are. Gonna get turbo hosed by climate change though. Yeah, also the people are probably the most liberal in the entire middle east.
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Jul 6, 2017 20:34
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Honestly, mods should be much more LIBERAL with their issuance of mod challenges. Argue your position in good faith, retract your point or eat a ban within X hours. It happened with Smoke Somethin in C-Spam and, even though he dodged away from his original point, at least he didn't just join a thread to poo poo it up, throw insults and then retreat when challenged. Because honestly letting one line poo poo posters run wild makes this thread unreadable, which is the exact point of the poo poo posts. It's only worth following for essays and articles and the info dumps from people who follow news on Twitter, virtually all discussion is skippable at this point. Scaramouche posted:If anything Iran might be positioned to be one of the better off countries in the entire region. Relatively stable, mostly functioning government apparatus, good demographics. If they could dump the shah, basij, and the revolutionary guard they'd be even more of a powerhouse than they are. Gonna get turbo hosed by climate change though. Obama's pivot towards friendly relations with Iran was a much needed step towards stabilizing the region. I feel that after his term we've hit an effective 'reset' with the Iranians that can make a relationship with them much more likely in the future even if I also feel he bungled the SCW and the nuclear deal. GOP is always game for a good ground war, though, so let's see if we can't run this poo poo into the ground. As climate change kicks in the old imperialist games aren't going to work anymore so unless there's a framework where the nations and ethnicities of the ME can work together I don't know what awaits them. JK, I do, it's called the Dark Ages
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Jul 6, 2017 20:59
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FourLeaf posted:New Neocon Mantra: Iran on Verge of Collapse: http://lobelog.com/new-neocon-mantra-iran-on-verge-of-collapse/#morehouse21 None of this is new. Dubowitz has said similar things before, and the MEK always draws a bunch of has been politicians at its annual rally. Howard Dean went last year. Iran certainly isn't invulnerable to internal dissent, after all, Assad was seen as cosmopolitan and a big step forward from Hafez inside Syria not so long ago. So I can see the argument that a large popular movement is inevitable. But these things are extremely hard to predict. On the one hand, voter participation was very high, and Iranians in general do seem to be very committed towards not becoming Syria. On the other hand, you have Rouhani being chased by a mob, and people self-immolating in protest of the elections. So it's hard to tell what will happen. People like Dubowitz always try to see the worst, but I don't think there's much there. Also worth mentioning that the recent dump didn't just reveal more about US involvement in the coup, but it exposed a lot more about how involved Kashani (Khomeini's ideological predecessor), and the clerical establishment were in it, which was very entertaining.
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Jul 6, 2017 21:40
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https://twitter.com/iraqi_day/status/882998523079380992 ISIS is broken in Mosul.
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Jul 6, 2017 23:19
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http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/04072017quote:"Conducting targeted strikes on two small portions of the wall allowed Coalition and partner forces to breach the Old City at a locations of their choosing, denied ISIS the ability to use pre-positioned mines, IED and VBIEDs, protected SDF and civilian lives, and preserved the integrity of the greatest portion of the wall," reads a US Central Command Statement released on Tuesday morning. The Old City Wall was essentially an inner shield that guarded the heart of ISIS territory in the city. If it's been pierced then it will allow the SDF to apply additional pressure against ISIS's limited resources, perhaps even breaking through into unprepared or at least less prepared positions. Just like with why Al-Bab was a nightmare and Taqba was a relative 'calm' affair ISIS is only as powerful as its preparations. If the Old City becomes contested and captured it would cripple ISIS in Raqqa. Edit: The Old City Wall is shaped like a horseshoe and runs along the west end al-Sinaa. This map shows a rough idea where the breaches might be. The market area just south of it has been seized within the past few days as well. There hasn't been too much variance otherwise from what I've followed. https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEDRkRoUAAQFLR0.jpg:large Brother Friendship fucked around with this message at 23:52 on Jul 6, 2017 |
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Jul 6, 2017 23:33
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If nothing else it could make the final push a less bloody affair. It may force IS to make their likely final stand in a less defensible area of the city. Which means less death overall.
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Jul 6, 2017 23:55
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One of my favorite things is to hop on periscope and see who is broadcasting in Syria and Iraq. Highlights tonight we're a Kurd in the Afrin pocket with a huge Kurdistan flag in the background and a young med student who just moved back to Mosul after living in Erbil for a while. He was totally chill and was just like "oh yeah everything is completely safe now." It's amazing to get that live, human look at what is going on with normal people in the actual city.
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Jul 7, 2017 01:46
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Human Grand Prix posted:I think a nationalist, secular Iran (to use a hypothetical example) would likely pursue the same policies as now. Pretty much; I'm pretty sure western media would still insist a secular, nationalist Iran is the Islamist republic in disguise even if it deigned to acknowledge the change.
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Jul 7, 2017 01:49
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CherryCola posted:On the topic of the Middle East: It is safe to say that such a point will never be reached. Turkey's sole concern and interest at the moment is preventing, or failing that containing a de facto PKK run enclave spanning through it's borders in the Southeast. As far as Ankara is concerned, Damascus gaining control of as much as border territory possible is a win for Turkey.
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Jul 7, 2017 02:07
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almighty posted:It is safe to say that such a point will never be reached. Turkey's sole concern and interest at the moment is preventing, or failing that containing a de facto PKK run enclave spanning through it's borders in the Southeast. As far as Ankara is concerned, Damascus gaining control of as much as border territory possible is a win for Turkey. There's been a lot of talk about the US and Russia reaching a grand bargain lately, and about Russia not giving a poo poo about Assad ever regaining control over the entire country. If Russia letting Turkey into Idlib means they have to send fewer of their own troops to patrol safe zones forever, it could happen.
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Jul 7, 2017 02:25
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Would Russia and the US even bother bringing Turkey into a grand bargain?
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Jul 7, 2017 02:29
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Thug Lessons posted:Breaking My Lai and Abu Ghraib isn't good enough for you? Ah, the "marched with MLK" defense for a new market. Human Grand Prix posted:I think a nationalist, secular Iran (to use a hypothetical example) would likely pursue the same policies as now. Yeah probably. Well, much the same at least.
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Jul 7, 2017 02:29
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WhiskeyWhiskers posted:Would Russia and the US even bother bringing Turkey into a grand bargain? They're a regional power and they share a border with Syria. Yes.
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Jul 7, 2017 02:30
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Volkerball posted:None of this is new. Dubowitz has said similar things before, and the MEK always draws a bunch of has been politicians at its annual rally. Howard Dean went last year. Iran certainly isn't invulnerable to internal dissent, after all, Assad was seen as cosmopolitan and a big step forward from Hafez inside Syria not so long ago. So I can see the argument that a large popular movement is inevitable. But these things are extremely hard to predict. On the one hand, voter participation was very high, and Iranians in general do seem to be very committed towards not becoming Syria. On the other hand, you have Rouhani being chased by a mob, and people self-immolating in protest of the elections. So it's hard to tell what will happen. People like Dubowitz always try to see the worst, but I don't think there's much there. Also worth mentioning that the recent dump didn't just reveal more about US involvement in the coup, but it exposed a lot more about how involved Kashani (Khomeini's ideological predecessor), and the clerical establishment were in it, which was very entertaining. same. I doubt iran will implode any time soon and if trump and friends invaded, it would just validate the hardliners and would cause the Iranian people to rally around the flag, just like iran iraq war did. my opinion was what obama was doing, slowly opening iran up and having warmer relations with them since their is a chance of better goverment in the future, unlike Saudi Arabia.
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Jul 7, 2017 02:34
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Xae posted:They're a regional power and they share a border with Syria. Plus they're already occupying part of the country and threatening to expand it on a routine basis.
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Jul 7, 2017 02:36
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